On the Edge of Disaster
by Psychopithicus
Summary: Set in Persiana13's Marvel-Persianaverse. Someone is displeased with Norman Osborn's dark reign. This someone has gathered a superpowered gang in an attempt to organize a resistance force. But how long will it last?
1. A Lesson to the Teacher

**Hello, all. I am once again writing for another person's universe (with their permission, of course). This time, it's for Persiana13, whose Persiana-verse consists of both the Marvel and DC universes. This story takes place in the Marvel section of the Persiana-verse.**

**Now, without further ado, let us begin!**

Prologue: A Lesson to the Teacher

New York City…home to a spectacular number of superhumans. At least one hundred of these superhumans have their names, powers, and other information registered with the government, a government controlled by a truly sinister man. Norman Osborn holds the city, perhaps even the entire country of North America, in the covert grasp of his iron fist.

Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, had spearheaded the registration movement. After encountering several invasion forces, however, he was removed from his position as head of the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. This was where Osborn came in, disbanding S.H.I.E.L.D and reforming it with a cast of corrupt men under the banner of H.A.M.M.E.R. He even formed his own replacement team of Avengers, filled with a dark group consisting of several supervillains and the feline-like Persiana.

Reed Richards, the man known as Mr. Fantastic, sat alone in a darkened cell provided by Osborn, a fate shared by many heroes of the day. The guards never even spoke to him, and Reed had no way of using his elastic powers to escape. Osborn had calculated everything perfectly.

"How could this have happened?" Reed muttered.

Two thumps outside caught his attention, and he looked up to see a nineteen-year-old boy standing in front of him with unconscious guards. The boy had shoulder-length black hair matched with a pair of wide sunglasses covering his eyes. He seemed to be wearing a dark green trenchcoat with the sleeves cut out, replaced by a pair of strange devices that covered his upper arms. The boy glared at Reed through his sunglasses, and began to speak in a fast-paced deadpan tone of voice.

"Thought you were the country's smartest man," the boy said. "Should've thought better."

"Who are you?" Reed asked.

"Borderline," the boy said simply.

"What's your name?" Reed repeated.

"Just told you," Borderline said simply.

"I meant your real name," Reed insisted.

"Not telling," Borderline replied as he shook his head. "Don't really care. Have better things to do, anyway."

"So, why are you here?" Reed asked. "Are you here to help me?"

"No chance," Borderline scoffed. "Besides, it's class time."

"Class?" Reed repeated. "But—"

Borderline interrupted by pointing one arm towards Reed. A three-foot metal pole shot out from the device on his arm and between the bars of the cell door, stopping just short of Reed's forehead. The pole became electrified, pulsing with crackling electricity.

"Quiet," Borderline snapped. "Teacher's talking. Now, onto your lesson."

"Do you know who I am?" Reed snapped.

"Mr. Fantastic," Borderline began. "Real name Reed Richards. Former leader of Fantastic Four. Powers acquired through exposure to cosmic radiation. Said powers include elasticity and limited shape-shifting. Genius-level intellect. Pro-registration. Currently incarcerated."

Reed simply stared dumbfounded at Borderline, both the boy's strange speech pattern and undeniable intelligence befuddling the genius. What's worse, the youth refused to help him escape, and was still holding the electrified pole in front of him. What was he?

"Your lesson today is remedial ethics," Borderline said. "You just have to answer some questions."

"And you'll help me escape?" Reed asked.

"Don't know," Borderline shrugged. "Depends on if you learn something. First question…you're going down the street. You see a woman being mobbed by thugs. Said thugs have guns and knives. You have your powers. What do you do?"

"What kind of question is this?" Reed sniffed.

"One you should answer honestly," Borderline replied simply.

"Well, then, I would call the proper authorities," Reed answered.

"Wrong," said Borderline before lightly jabbing his metallic pole into Reed's forehead, administering a small electric shock. "You have powers. You're in the area. You get off your lazy butt and stop the thugs. You're a superhero. You _are _the proper authority."

"But—" Reed attempted, but Borderline struck him in the head, silencing him.

"Second question," Borderline continued. "Your wife—in this case, ex-wife—is accused of committing a crime. She did not commit said crime. Police are convinced said wife committed crime. What do you do?"

"Let the police sort it out," Reed replied, and was shocked, though this time Borderline jabbed slightly harder.

"Wrong again," Borderline admonished. "Police don't always come through. Your wife would be locked in prison for life. You would be at fault."

Borderline paused for a moment.

"Shouldn't be surprised you picked that," Borderline said. "You let your wife die. And you still call yourself a husband."

"I am!" Reed cried angrily.

"Case closed," Borderline said. "Third and final question…Registration Act is about to be passed. Support or not?"

"Support, of course," Reed said.

"Wrong once again," Borderline said, jabbing his electric pole into Reed's forehead at full-force. "Self-respecting superheroes would be against it. Registration Act condemns all acts of heroism. Superheroes would be wiped out by a single smart supervillain."

Borderline withdrew his pole and put his face near the bars, glaring darkly at Reed.

"You haven't learned a thing," Borderline spat with a barely-detectable tinge of bitterness.

"But, you have to let me out!" Reed cried. "I can—"

"Sign up with Osborn like the coward you are," Borderline finished. "And you call yourself the smartest man in the country."

Borderline turned and walked away, leaving Reed Richards alone once again.


	2. Continuation of the End

Chapter 1: Continuation of the End

Angelica Jones had wanted nothing to do with either side of the Registration Act, supportive or opposing. She had gone as far as to retire, abandoning the identity of the mutant Firestar, to avoid the carnage the Civil War wrought upon New York, and thus evaded all contact with either side.

That period of isolation ended today.

A man appeared at the front door of her apartment. His arms were covered in tattoos and he had a long black Mohawk running down his head. He looked rather confident as Angelica opened the door.

"Hello?" she asked.

"You're Angelica Jones, right?" said the man.

"Y-yes," Angelica replied.

"Name's Daken," said the man. "I'm from the Avengers."

"The…Avengers?" Angelica asked, having seen the news broadcast revealing Osborn's team of Dark Avengers to the world.

"Right," Daken said. "There's a new team of X-Men that's going to be starting up."

"You…want me to be part of it?" Angelica stammered. Something about this man intimidated her like nothing other…as if his very smell was the smell or horror.

"Smart girl," Daken smirked. "Want to get going?"

"I…I can't," Angelica said. "I gave up being Firestar when the Registration Act came around."

"Don't worry about it," Daken said. "You join up, you're home free, no persecution at all. If you don't…"

Two curving claws burst from between Daken's knuckles, a third emerging from below his fist.

"Then we might have a problem," Daken said.

"Threatening a lady?" a Cajun-accented voice said. "Now that's just rude, _mon frer_."

"What?" Daken spun around, and found another man, this one with crimson eyes and messy brown hair.

"Looks like ol' Remy needs to teach you some manners!" said Remy LeBeau, an on-and-off member of the X-Men who went by the codename of Gambit.

"Just try it!" Daken snarled, preparing both sets of claws as Gambit pulled a cylinder out of his coat.

Daken lunged just as Remy's cylinder extended into a long staff. The Cajun quickly side-stepped the son of Wolverine and let him crash into the wall. Daken pulled his claws out in time to be struck with Remy's staff, and with the Cajun mutant's kinetic energy power charging it, Daken went flying down the hall.

"That won't keep him busy for long," Remy pointed out, grabbing Angelica's wrist. "Let's go, _chere_."

"But—" Angelica tried to interject, but Remy cut her off.

"You'd rather take your chances with your charming visitor?" Remy asked, using his staff to gesture at the charging Daken.

"Point taken!" Angelica cried, Remy pulling her along as he ran towards a window. With a pole-vault out, Remy and a screaming Angelica were flung onto a rooftop, with Daken still in pursuit.

"Gonna have to fly us out, _chere_!" Remy cried as they ran across the roof.

"But I haven't flown in months!" Angelica replied.

"Then we'd better hope you're not rusty, eh, _chere_?" Remy smirked. At the edge of the rooftop, the two suddenly stopped, as did Daken.

"Nowhere left to run," Daken smirked.

"Maybe so," Remy replied, also smirking. "But, if you're anything like your old man—"

"I AM NOT!" Daken roared, charging towards Remy and Angelica. Unfortunately, Remy simply side-stepped again, this time sticking out his staff and tripping Daken off of the roof.

"As Remy was saying," said the Cajun, "if you're anything like your old man, you'd know that if you do something stupid you'd fall off the roof."

He turned to Angelica.

"Mind flying us out, _chere_?" Remy asked. "If you don't mind, how about doing it _before _our friend Daken gets bored with his nap?"

"Well…okay," Angelica said, taking hold of Remy and levitating off the ground. "Where do we go?"

"Remy know a place," smiled the Cajun. "Just let Remy give you directions."

Later, the two had arrived at their destination.

"The Baxter Building?" Angelica said. "You could've just said that was where you wanted to go!"

"And ruin the surprise?" Remy smirked. "Remy think not."

The Cajun mutant led Angelica inside, and the latter immediately gasped. Parts of the wall appeared to have been torn off, and there were claw-like slashes in the wall.

"This place looks like a war happened here!" Angelica gasped.

"Osborn's Avengers _did _come here some time ago, after the abduction of Mr. Fantastic," a new voice said. "Obviously, a war would be the result, even if they were only searching for items Richards could have used against Osborn."

A man in a white hooded cloak entered the foyer, guns strapped to his belt.

"I trust Daken did not follow?" asked the white-cloaked man.

"He's just having his sleepy time," Remy replied. "By the time Wolvie Junior wakes up, he'll figure out that he's heading back to Osborn empty-handed."

"And you are unharmed?" the man in the white-cloak asked Angelica.

"I-I'm fine," she said. "Who are you?"

"I am called Moon Knight," said the cloaked man. "Gambit and I are part of a small resistance movement, dedicated to stopping Osborn from committing any more acts of terror."

"And other stuff!" a fourth voice cried as a orange-and-blue creature with a vague resemblance to Spider-Man swung in on a chain-like strand of webbing.

Angelica let out a scream the moment she saw this latest newcomer.

"Toxin, you were supposed to stay in the computer room until Angelica was more familiar with her surroundings," Moon Knight said sternly.

"Aw, but it's so boring in there!" Toxin whined.

"You'll have to forgive Toxin," Moon Knight said to Angelica. "His symbiote is still rather…child-like."

"Symbiote?" Angelica gasped.

Toxin's face split, revealing that of a normal man underneath.

"Spawned from Carnage," said the man. "I'm Pat Mulligan, by the way. Sorry if Toxin scared you. We try not to do that too much."

"Mr. Mulligan is much more reasonable than his Symbiote," Moon Knight said.

"Well, this discussion about Venom's lovely grandchild is very fascinating," said Remy, "but I think it's time we brought our friend here to who we wanted her to see."

"Me? See who?" Angelica asked.

"The one who founded this resistance movement," Moon Knight answered.

"Your…leader?" Angelica asked.

"That's about right," Pat nodded. "We'll show you."

After a somewhat long elevator ride (made longer by Toxin's childish behavior), the four arrived at the computer room of the Baxter Building. Remy was first out of the elevator, grandly gesturing for Angelica to leave as well.

The former Firestar stepped out of the elevator, and saw the back of a chair mounted in front of many computer panels. The chair swiveled, and Angelica saw the founder of the resistance.

Borderline.

"Hi," said the nineteen-year-old with a casual wave of the hand.


	3. Are You in or Out?

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The Marvel-Persiana-verse this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 2: Are You in or Out?

"Wh-who are you?" Angelica stuttered.

"Borderline," said the boy in the green trenchcoat. "I had Gambit save you."

"Well…thank you, then," said Angelica. "Oh, I'm sorry, my name's—"

"Firestar," Borderline interrupted. "Real name Angelica Jones. Former member of the Hellions, Avengers, and New Warriors. Powers include flight and pyrokinesis. Said powers manifested via an X-gene. Neither Pro nor Anti-Registration. Currently retired."

Angelica blinked, disturbed at how much Borderline seemed to know about her history.

"He does that with everyone he meets, _chere_," Remy explained. "You get used to it."

"So…why am I here?" Angelica asked. "I mean, I'm grateful that Remy got Daken off my back, but why bring me to your headquarters?"

"Simple," Borderline said. "Need more recruits. Can't fight Osborn with only four people."

"But why _me_?" Angelica asked.

"Osborn wanted you," Borderline answered. "Can't let him have what he wants. Plus, your powers are handy."

"What's Osborn doing, anyway?" Angelica asked. "I know he's making his own version of the X-Men, but…why does he want me?"

This time, Borderline was not the one to speak, but instead Moon Knight stepped forward.

"Osborn has sought out various mutants to recruit for his cause," Moon Knight explained. "These mutants are typically unaffiliated with any group, as you were when Daken approached you. He has already recruited several by using this method, including your former teacher."

"Emma Frost," Angelica snarled, narrowing her eyes as she remembered the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club. "Figures she'd be involved."

"He's even got Mystique under wraps with some convenient little nanobots," Remy said, "not to mention he snagged Cloak and Dagger, too."

"And that Weapon Alpha guy!" Toxin added.

"Weapon _Omega_," Moon Knight corrected.

"Whatever!" Toxin snapped.

Angelica was stunned. How did the man once known as the Green Goblin draft such powerful mutants to his evil cause?

"Decision time," Borderline said to Angelica. "You can leave and be normal. Or you can join us and fight Osborn. Your choice."

"I…I'll need some time to think about it," Angelica said.

Borderline shrugged and turned back to his computer.

"Just one question, though," Angelica said. "How do you know so much about me, and about Osborn?"

"Hacking," Borderline replied without even glancing back at Angelica. "Lots and lots of hacking."

"O…kay," Angelica said, again somewhat disturbed. "I'll just…be in the lower levels...thinking."

The headquarters of the Dark Avengers was an unpleasant place, to say the least. Populated with some of the worst villains, it was a wonder why James Rhodes, otherwise known as the heroic War Machine, had decided to join. Regardless, Daken stormed past his comrades and straight into the room Osborn had claimed as his office.

"Ah, Daken," said Osborn as the son of Wolverine burst in. "I do know of your failure to recruit Firestar, but I have other matters I must attend to."

"Like what?" Daken asked.

"I attempted to access the list of superhumans who registered with the government during the Civil War," Osborn said, taking a tone of seriousness like no other. "And I found only one thing."

"What?" Daken asked.

"Nothing," Osborn snarled. "Someone deleted the List from every computer in the entirety of H.A.M.M.E.R, and whoever did it also wiped out all our other superhuman-related data."

"And you want me to find the little rat?" Daken smirked.

"Unfortunately, no," Osborn shook his head. "Even I could find no trace of whoever hacked H.A.M.M.E.R's computers, and that in itself is astonishing. For now, it will remain a mystery."

Daken let out a slight snarl.

"I do, however, have a job for you," Osborn said. "I want you to find a certain man and bring him here. I intend to use his research to build up the ranks of my new X-Men team."

"And who am I hunting?" Daken asked.

"It's very simple," Osborn smirked. "His name is Dr. Curt Connors."


	4. Reptilian Return

**This took a while, but we're setting up for some interesting events here. Should be fun.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, as does Farrah Willows/Persiana. Everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 3: Reptilian Return

Dr. Curtis Connors was an unlucky man. After he lost his arm, he had attempted to use a serum to grow it back in the same way a lizard regained its tail. Unfortunately, the serum had the side-effect of transforming Connors into a human-reptile hybrid calling itself "the Lizard". After several encounters with Spider-Man, Connors had moved to New York to find a way to permanently ensure that the Lizard would never return.

That was where Osborn came in.

"You want me to recreate my serum and use it to mutate one of your H.A.M.M.E.R agents into a monster?" Connors asked, horrified. "Are you mad?"

"I'm told as such," Osborn replied. "Oh, and before you decline, let me remind you of one thing…"

A click behind Connors caused the scientist to turn, and there stood James "Rhodey" Rhodes, the hero-turned-Dark Avenger called War Machine. Rhodey was pointing a gun at the back of Connors' head.

"You don't have a choice," Osborn smirked. "Unless, of course, you would like more…drastic…means of preventing the Lizard's return."

"I…" Connors stammered, suddenly clutching the stump that used to be his right arm. "Ur…no, I…"

"No?" Osborn said. "Very well, then. War Machine?"

"As you command," Rhodey stated flatly, preparing to fire. Then, something unexpected happened.

Connors' arm grew back.

"**No!**" snarled Connors as his skin became covered in green scales, quickly lashing out with his newly-grown arm and destroying Rohdey's gun. "**You will be the ones to die today!**"

Osborn's Iron Patriot armor activated, and though he managed to launch a jet of fire from one hand, the newly-transformed Lizard was barely affected by the raging flames. The reptilian monster quickly struck Osborn down with his giant tail, doing the same to Rhodey. He then bounded out of the lab within the Dark Avengers' headquarters, destroying everything in his path.

"Dark Avengers, stop the Lizard from escaping!" Osborn barked. "I repeat, stop the Lizard from escaping!"

Daken charged at Lizard, claws drawn, but Connors' monstrous alter-ego agilely dodged and slashed Daken across his back. A black tentacle suddenly snatched Lizard's hand, but Venom soon found his efforts in vain when Lizard tore his hand free and charged, swatting the symbiote aside as he burst through the door and escaped into the streets.

Osborn got up, angrily glancing at the wreckage the Lizard had wrought on his team's headquarters.

"Wolverine, Persiana, find him by his scent," Osborn snarled. "He can't have gone far. The rest are with me. I want him alive...for now."

Back at the Baxter Building, Angelica was spending the majority of her time by the secretary desk, thinking. Should she join Borderline's resistance? If not, where else could she go? Osborn would indeed continue his hunt for her. Should she not at least try to ensure that no other innocent people suffered the same fate?

"How you doing, _chere_?" asked Remy as he strolled in.

"Okay, all things considered," Angelica sighed.

"You think about joining up?" Remy asked. "Might do you some good to pay back Osborn."

"I…I really don't know," Angelica said. "I know it'd be good for me, and it might even keep me safe from that lunatic. All the same, though…I don't want to give up whatever normalcy I had."

"Trust me, _chere_," Remy said with a shake of his head, "there's nothing normal about mutants. Osborn wants mutants like us to build up his Dark X-Men, and if he gets what he wants, it means some bad times for everyone in this whole country. You really want that, _chere_? You want every mutant in this country to be drafted into the bad guys?"

Angelica was silent for a moment.

"You sound awfully…wise," she said.

"Eh, what can Remy say," Remy shrugged. "You pick up a few things if you've been around. And when you've been around Borderline, you really can't avoid picking up things."

"What's with him, anyway?" Angelica asked.

"Don't know," Remy shrugged. "All Remy knows is that he's a kid who _really _has it in for Osborn. Doesn't like Stark, Richards, and Pym too much, either. Blames them for giving Osborn an opportunity or something like that."

"They started the Civil War," came the familiar deadpan tone of Borderline's voice as the nineteen-year-old walked in. "Single smart supervillain would be able to capitalize on opportunity. Osborn was said smart supervillain."

"Oh, uh…hi, Borderline," Angelica stammered, still getting used to the strange teenager.

Borderline gave her a brief nod of acknowledgement.

"So, this is one of those famous times in which you leave the computer room," Remy smirked. "What's the occasion?"

"That," Borderline said, pointing to the door.

For a moment, both Remy and Angelica were confused as to what Borderline was indicating. And then, it revealed itself to them.

The Lizard barreled through the doors, roaring madly and gnashing his teeth. He made a leap at Borderline, but the teenager dodged with a single swift side-step. He then jabbed one of his electric poles into the Lizard's back, discharging a painful amount of electricity into the creature. It was not enough to defeat the beast, however, as Lizard turned around and swatted Borderline with his tail, sending the teen flying. Amazingly, however, Borderline simply rolled across the floor before springing up into a fighting stance.

"**Humans,**" snarled the Lizard, "**your end is near. The reign of the Lizard will soon begin!**"

Remy extended his staff as Angelica powered up, floating into the air slightly. The Lizard charged, slashing at Angelica, only for the heroine formerly known as Firestar to dodge each attack. Remy jabbed the end of his staff into the Lizard's stomach, allowing his kinetic energy to send the scientist-turned-monster skidding across the floor. The Lizard rose, but was quickly struck with a fireball from Angelica and another electrical jab in the back from Borderline, falling unconscious soon after.

"What…what is that?" Angelica panted.

"The Lizard," Borderline began, "real name Dr. Curtis Connors. Former member of Sinister Six and Sinister Twelve. Powers include super-strength, super-agility, wall-crawling, and telepathic control over reptiles. Said powers acquired due to serum intended to re-grow lost arm. Currently active."

He looked down at the Lizard's unconscious body.

"More or less," he finished.

"So, what do we do with Scaly here?" Remy asked.

"Keep him," Borderline said.

"Keep him?" Angelica repeated.

"Uh, couldn't you just get a dog from the pet store?" Remy asked.

"Have an idea," Borderline said. "Need Lizard in the computer room."

Two blocks away, something was brewing.

Daken and a woman with white fur perched on a rooftop with a clear view of the Baxter Building. Both eagerly awaited what they assumed would be a relatively easy capture.

"Wolverine to Iron Patriot," Daken said into his communicator. "Lizard went into the Baxter Building."

"Knowing his psychological profile, he will most likely attempt to set up a base there," Osborn surmised. "I want both of you to take him out and bring him here."

"Roger," Daken said before deactivating his communicator and turning to the furred woman. "You ready?"

"Ask yourself that," smirked Farrah Willows, the heroine-turned-Dark Avenger codenamed Persiana. "Let's go."


	5. Battle of the Baxter Building

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe this story takes place in belongs to Persian13, as does Farrah Willows/Persiana. Everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 4: Battle of the Baxter Building

"Let me get this straight," Angelica said. "You want to use a high-tech belt to give Dr. Connors the ability to switch between human and Lizard at will while still keeping his mind?"

This question was brought up by the fact that Borderline had strapped such a device to the still-unconscious Lizard, the latter rather unceremoniously lying on the floor. The members of Borderline's resistance (and Angelica) had gathered around the monstrous scientist's form, the former Firestar attempting to assess the certainty of Borderline's plan.

"Yes," Borderline said simply, giving a light shock to Lizard whenever he stirred.

"But, where did you get the technology for that?" Angelica asked.

"Got it from someone," Borderline said simply.

* * *

In the country of Latveria, Angelica's question could be answered in an entirely different way by a certain metal-clad individual in a green cloak.

"BLASTED RICHARDS!" bellowed Dr. Doom. "DOOM KNOWS OF THE THEFT YOU COMMITTED!"

* * *

Back in the Baxter Building, two unwelcome individuals had entered in search of the Lizard. Persiana and Daken, using their enhanced senses, attempted to track their foe's trail.

"Funny," Farrah said.

"What?" Daken asked.

"This building's been abandoned ever since Osborn locked up Tony, Reed, and Xavier," Farrah said.

"So?" Daken asked.

"Lizard's scent isn't the only one I'm picking up," Farrah said. "There's someone else here…about five other someones."

"Then we take the elevator and 'greet' them," Daken smirked.

* * *

"Activating belt," Borderline said. "Stand back."

Everyone complied, and Borderline used one of his poles to tap a large button in the center of the belt. Amazingly, the Lizard's face shrank and his scales disappeared. The re-grown arm had shrunk back into a mere stump, and the tail was withdrawn as well. Dr. Curt Connors opened his eyes, and looked at his one remaining human hand.

"Wha…what happened?" asked a stunned Dr. Connors.

"The device on your waist has reversed your transformation," Moon Knight explained. "I'm afraid, however, that it has not cured your condition."

"The fact that it made me human again is relief enough," Connors said. "Who are all of you? I recognize one or two, but the rest of you are unknown to me."

"Borderline," said the teenager in the green trenchcoat, gesturing to himself. "Toxin. Moon Knight. Gambit. Firestar."

"Hello," Angelica waved sheepishly.

"So, what are you doing here?" Connors asked. "This is the Baxter Building, right? It's been abandoned ever since Osborn took over New York."

"That would be what we are trying to counteract," Moon Knight said. "We wish to remove Osborn from power and restore this country to what it used to be."

"Is that so?" came the voice of Farrah Willows, everyone but Borderline turning to her and Daken in shock. "Guess we'll have to take you down, then."

"Puh-Persiana?" Angelica stuttered.

"Hello, Firestar," Daken smirked. "Miss me?"

"Did you miss Remy, Wolvie Jr.?" Remy asked with a smirk of his own.

"Why, you little-!" Daken snarled.

"Easy, honey," Farrah said. "You'll get your fill and then some in a little bit."

Back near Dr. Connors, however, Toxin had shrunk back when Farrah entered. The single-armed scientist noticed this, and immediately came to the conclusion that something was wrong. From what he had seen of symbiotes, they rarely—if ever—acted this way.

"No…can't be…can't be. Can't be, can't be," Toxin mumbled, acting as if he were trying to convince himself of something.

"Leave now and you may live to inform your master that he will fall," Moon Knight ordered, Angelica wondering if he was either serious or being overdramatic.

"How?" Daken laughed. "Osborn's got the entire country in his hands. And what have you got?"

"You've got two mutants, a weird guy in a white cloak, a scientist with an identity crisis, and—" Farrah paused upon catching sight of Toxin. She smirked. "And a symbiote."

"Ah, but there's only two of you, _chere,_" Remy pointed out.

"That can be fixed," Daken said, activating his communicator. "Wolverine to Iron Patriot, come in."

His only answer, however, was static.

"Wolverine to Iron Patriot, come in!" Daken repeated.

"You're being jammed," said Borderline as he stepped away from his computer console. "No messages get in. No messages get out."

"Who the hell are you?" Daken demanded.

"Borderline," replied the strange teenager.

"He must be the one behind this little escapade, since none of the others could really pull it off," Farrah surmised. "Daken, honey, should we see if they'll surrender?"

"Let's not," Daken smirked, preparing his claws.

"Then battle it is," Moon Knight said, immediately throwing a crescent-shaped boomerang at the two Dark Avengers, only for Daken to slice it into pieces with a single slash.

"Toxin, get Connors to safety," Borderline ordered.

"Huh?" Toxin grunted, having barely noticed the order in the midst of his muttering. "Oh, right. Come on, doc."

The symbiote hefted the scientist onto his back and attempted to carry him to the elevator, only for Farrah to leap in front of them.

"Going somewhere?" she smirked.

"…you…I know you," Toxin muttered.

"Isn't that sweet?" Farrah said, smirk growing wider. She drew back one claw, but quickly caught sight of Angelica flying towards her.

"Leave them alone!" Angelica cried, throwing a fireball at Persiana.

Farrah's eyes widened as the flaming object approached her. Her instinctive fear of fire took control, and she darted out of the way, somersaulting on the ground and then leaping up to Angelica. The mutant heroine soon found herself pinned to the ground by her agile, cat-like foe.

"I think I'll have some Firestar barbecue," Farrah smirked.

"I don't think so!" Angelica yelled, rising into the air with Persiana holding on. She heated up her body, forcing the feline Dark Avenger to let go and fall to the ground.

Farrah got up, noticing a fight between Remy and Daken. She moved as if to assist Daken, but soon found someone in her way.

Borderline.

"Hi," he said simply.

"Love to stay and chat, uh…Borderline, right?" Farrah said. "I have to deal with your buddies, so I can't stick around. Nothing personal, really."

"Personal with me," Borderline said, narrowing his eyes behind his sunglasses. "You're an idiot."

"What?" Farrah snarled.

"You're an idiot," Borderline repeated. "You're working for Osborn. You're betraying Captain America's memory. You're letting your father rot in prison."

Farrah paused as he said that, Borderline noticing that there did seem to still be some humanity left in her.

"Last one's forgivable, though," the strange teenager continued. "He did deserve it."

"True," Farrah smirked. "You know what? I'll deal with you instead of your friends."

"Good," Borderline said, extending his poles and charging them with electricity. "Need the exercise."

Farrah lunged at him, but Borderline rolled to the side and dodged her claws. The feline Dark Avenger leapt again, this time a strand of webbing caught her by the back and yanked her into Toxin's waiting fist.

"I know who you really are," Toxin growled, "but I don't know how you're still around."

"You'll find out soon enough!" Farrah snarled, slashing Toxin across his chest. In response, Toxin kneed her in the stomach before delivering another punch, knocking Persiana onto the floor.

"We really needed that backup," Daken groaned.

"We'll be back, boys and girl," Farrah warned the group, "and we'll bring an army with us."

Farrah carried Daken into the elevator, and the two left.

"Are we not pursuing them?" Moon Knight asked Borderline as the latter went to a computer. "They are more than likely to reveal our existence and location to Osborn!"

"Exactly," Borderline said, inserting what appeared to be a cellular phone into the computer. "Need to move. Got a new base in mind."

"Where?" Angelica asked.

"Old Illuminati base," Borderline answered. "Been abandoned after Osborn put Stark, Richards, and Xavier in prison. Should work out."

After a few short minutes, he removed his phone-like device from the computer.

"No evidence left," Borderline said. "Now, we leave."

He abruptly brushed by most of his resistance force, Moon Knight and Toxin following first. Remy simply shrugged and fell in line. The group stopped when Borderline turned to Angelica and Dr. Connors.

"You coming?" he asked.

"I am," Connors said. "I can't repay you enough for giving me such help with my…condition…but I think helping you should be an excellent start."

"What about you?" Borderline asked Angelica.

The former Firestar sighed.

"I guess I am," she said. "I guess the fact that even someone like Persiana could be controlled by Osborn…the reality of what's going on in the world right now sort of hits you in the face."

She looked to Borderline.

"I'm not going to let myself, or anyone else, be controlled by Osborn ever again," Angelica vowed.

"Then come on," Borderline said with what appeared to be the barest hint of a smile. "Let's go."

Most of the group, now including Angelica Jones and Dr. Curt Connors, left. Toxin, however, stayed behind for a moment, lost in his thoughts.

"Carnage," he whispered.

With a brief shudder at the thought of his "parent" symbiote, Toxin left to return to his team.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Osborn said to Farrah and Daken. "A rag-tag group of rebels defeated you in the Baxter Building?"

"There were only six of them," Daken snarled. "We should have been able to take them."

"You will be, Daken," Osborn smirked. "I'm placing you on my Dark X-Men team, but you'll still be on the Dark Avengers."

He pressed a button on an intercom.

"Ms. Frost, come in, please," Osborn said into the intercom.

An attractive blonde woman in a rather immodest white outfit entered the room.

"Allow me to introduce you to the one in charge of my Dark X-Men," Osborn said. "Wolverine, Persiana…meet Emma Frost."

"Charmed, I'm sure," Frost said dismissively.

"Now then," Osborn continued, "your first task on the Dark X-Men will be a simple one."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Hunt down and kill those renegades," Osborn ordered.


	6. Shapes of Things to Come

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 5: Shapes of Things to Come

Borderline's group managed to fit inside Moon Knight's crescent-shaped ship, and the small resistance force eventually landed at what appeared to be an abandoned apartment complex.

"This is it?" Angelica asked.

"No," Borderline said, entering the complex as he spoke. The others followed, and the minute they entered, Borderline used one electrified pole to strike the wall.

While this seemed to be an action without purpose, the portion of the floor upon which the group stood quickly sank into the ground. The elevator descended down a long shaft, eventually stopping.

"Bottom floor," Remy smirked, "Computers, spare costumes, and oh look, a secret base."

"What is this place?" Angelica asked, gazing in awe at the science that surrounded her.

"This was a base used by the Illuminati," Moon Knight explained, "abandoned after the Civil War started."

"Who are the Illuminati?" Dr. Connors asked.

"Evil," Borderline said with a tinge of bitterness. "Orchestrated Civil War by having Nitro explode near school. Had Captain America killed. Launched the Hulk into space."

Angelica stood agape. Borderline continued, evidently on a semi-passionate rant against his hated foes.

"Illuminati wanted to rule superhero community," Borderline said. "Tried to make themselves dictators. Instead they gave Osborn an opportunity."

He lowered his sunglasses for the first time. Angelica saw two green eyes behind them…two pained and angry green eyes. She couldn't help but wonder what happened to give him such a hatred of the Illuminati.

"Tony Stark led them," Borderline snarled. "He was followed by Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Namor, Charles Xavier, and Dr. Strange."

At this Angelica's jaw dropped. Dr. Connors, however, simply shook his head.

"I don't believe it," Dr. Connors sighed. "I thought those men were heroes, but they're really absolute monsters."

"They most certainly are," Moon Knight nodded. "Persiana is Tony Stark's daughter, and he was willing to end her life just to make his insane dreams come to fruition."

"Need to stop Osborn, now," Borderline said, returning to his typical fast-paced deadpan voice as he pushed his sunglasses back up. "Find a spot to do something. Need to clean this place up."

As the various members of the renegades sought tasks to perform, Borderline approached a computer console. He pressed several buttons, activating it, just before uploading the contents of his cell phone-like device to the computer. Afterwards, he removed his phone, viewing a picture that had appeared.

There were two people in the picture. One was a young, jubilant-looking girl with bright green eyes and a wide smile. She was standing in front of a school, which was unmistakably the one Nitro had destroyed in the Stamford Incident. The other person in the picture was also unmistakable.

It was Borderline.

_Stark got what he deserved_, Borderline thought as he stuffed his phone into his pocket. _Now his mess needs to be cleaned up._

_

* * *

_

White high-heels tapped the floor of the Dark X-Men's new base. Emma Frost let out a sigh as she left her office, honestly reluctant to greet her new team. As soon as she entered the foyer in which they were gathered, she could already feel a headache approaching.

"Good evening," Emma began to her new teammates, attempting to maintain her composure. "My name is Emma Frost, and I will be the leader of the Dark X-Men."

One of the members snorted in response, but Emma took no notice.

"As members of this team, I'll need to be able to have names to address you by," Emma smirked. "You can't possibly be _that _meaningless, now can you?"

She looked to the being to her right, which appeared to be a grey-furred man with yellow eyes and curving black hair.

"We will begin with you," she said.

"Very well," said the man. "My name is Henry Phillip McCoy II, but given the presence of a more 'honest' mutant by that name, I suppose you will refer to me as Dark Beast."

"Dark Beast is an alternate-reality counterpart to the similarly-named member of the X-Men," Emma explained. "Just so we can keep this short, I believe you are next."

She nodded to a man in an blue-and-orange costume. Like Dark Beast, he had a relatively unusual appearance, but his consisted of two bird-like wings and a visor over his eyes.

"Fine," said the man. "Name's Calvin Rankin, but nowadays you can call me Mimic. I have a lot of the X-Men's powers."

"As one can see from your appearance," Emma nodded. "Next."

This time her command was directed at someone who, for all appearances, appeared to be a bald man in a wheelchair. Upon closer inspection, however, the man's skin seemed to turn blue and red hair seemed to grow from his head. In mere seconds, the man had transformed into a blue-skinned woman with yellow eyes and red hair.

"I'm Mystique," said the woman. "If you have any brains at all, you can guess what my power is."

"Indeed," Emma smirked. "Moving on?"

Next was a man in a red-and-white costume with the Greek letter for "Omega" printed on his chest. He looked at Emma briefly before responding.

"Call me Omega," said the man. "I'm no one's weapon."

"Despite your—how shall I say—'dealings' with the government of Canada," Emma said. "And, last but not least, I believe you all should know this one."

All eyes turned to the last member of the Dark X-Men. This member was the one who let out a snort when Emma said she was the leader.

It was Daken.

"Yeah," Daken snarled. "Now, how about we get this show on the road? I want to dish a little payback out to Jones and her pals."

* * *

"You do understand that I still have need of them, right?" Osborn scowled at an arrogant-looking man in glasses.

"Of course," said the man. "I know they contribute to society as well as protecting it. But, eventually, they have to go."

"And the others?" Osborn asked.

"They'll all be taken care of," the man said. "My plan is guaranteed to be a success."

"Except when it fails," Osborn countered. "When have your little plans ever succeeded in the past?"

"What's past is past," the other man said nonchalantly. "This is the future, Mr. Osborn. You and your Avengers are the future. I'm only trying to do what's best for my country, same as you."

"Fine," Osborn said. "But I'm keeping Venom and Carnage for a while, Gyrich."

"Trust me," smirked Henry Gyrich, "my 'Aliens Go Home' policy will prevent another invasion and benefit you at the same time."


	7. A Bit of SWORDplay

**Yes, I do admit that I am (and probably will be) drawing quite a bit from the S.W.O.R.D series that came out some time ago, but...there's a character in there that I wanted to bring in really badly, and didn't know how else to do it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 6: A Bit of S.W.O.R.D-play

At the headquarters of the Dark X-Men, two individuals stood on a balcony, overlooking the city. One was a dark-skinned man shrouded in a black cloak. The other was a blonde girl in a white jumpsuit.

"We should have gone to that meeting, Cloak," said the girl to her partner.

"I do not trust these so-called 'X-Men'," replied Cloak.

"Why not?" asked Dagger, the second half of the duo known as Cloak and Dagger. "Cloak, Osborn gave us a chance to take our war on drugs to a world-wide scale. If we start here in the U.S., as members of his X-Men team, we can make sure that no one in the entire _world _suffers because of drugs."

"That may be," Cloak sighed, "but I am nonetheless apprehensive of our…membership…with these 'Dark X-Men'."

"You're 'apprehensive' of pretty much everything, Cloak," Dagger quipped. "Just relax for once. Everything's going to be fine."

Down the hall, however, all of Cloak and Dagger's exchange was heard by a smirking Daken.

"Listen to your little girlfriend, Cloak," smirked the son of Wolverine. "Otherwise, you'll find out how true your apprehensions are."

* * *

Borderline and his group had finally finished the renovations to their new base. Like the Baxter Building before it, the facility formerly owned by the Illuminati was now the home of five renegade superhumans and one strange human, all dedicating to halting Osborn's reign of terror.

"So, what do we do now?" Angelica asked, leaning on Borderline's chair as he typed at his computer.

"Need to get Cloak and Dagger off of Dark X-Men team," Borderline said, never turning away from his computer for even a second. "You and Toxin need to do that."

"Why?" Toxin whined.

"Because Angelica knows full well the problems faced by working with the wrong side, and can explain those problems to Cloak and Dagger." Moon Knight began. "In addition, while Angelica is fully capable of protecting herself, she needs additional support due to being so near to Daken."

"Plus, Remy say you need to get out more after dousing Remy's staff with your webs," Remy glared at Toxin.

"Oh, fine," Toxin groaned.

"Well, come on," Angelica said, approaching the elevator. "Let's go, Toxin."

* * *

On the surface, Angelica and Toxin—the latter in his guise of Pat Mulligan—strolled down the street leading to the Dark X-Men's headquarters. With both wearing civilian outfits, neither seemed capable of posing any sort of threat. Neither also noticed a pair of high-tech binoculars staring at them from a nearby rooftop.

"How do you think this is going to work?" Angelica asked.

"No clue," Pat shook his head. "We wouldn't be doing this if it was as easy as going up and saying 'hi, Osborn's going to have you killed off when he's done using you, how about hanging out with us'?"

"When is anything _ever _that easy?" Angelica asked.

"Never," Pat replied. "I—gah!"

Pat's sudden exclamation was in response to a device that had come from nowhere and attached itself to his shoulder. The device charged a blast of electricity through his body, rendering him unconscious within seconds.

"Pat!" Angelica cried, powering up. "Who did that?"

A troop of men in black suits and helmets quickly arrived on the scene, one firing off another of the device used to incapacitate Pat to do the same to Angelica.

"We took down the symbiote," the lead trooper declared into a communicator. "Let's head back to base."

The men teleported away after their leader spoke, Pat in tow. After Angelica recovered, she left as well, heading straight back to her team's base.

* * *

"Toxin has been captured," the lead trooper declared upon appearing in a massive space station. His words were received by a familiar face displayed on a video screen.

The face of Henry Gyrich.

"Good," Gyrich smirked. "That adds another alien to the tally. Soon, there won't be any chance of another invasion."


	8. Counterstrike

**And now we come to the sole reason the S.W.O.R.D arc was introduced.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe this takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 7: Counter-strike

Angelica burst into her team's base, panting madly. She fell to her knees out of exhaustion, having exerted herself quite a bit in her attempt to reach the base as quickly as possible.

"Angelica, what happened?" Moon Knight asked. "Where is Toxin?"

"They…took him," Angelica panted.

"Who took him?" Remy asked.

"S.W.O.R.D," Borderline interjected, standing up and turning to the group.

"S.W.O.R.D?" Dr. Connors repeated. "What's that?"

"Sentient World Observation and Response Department," Borderline answered. "S.H.I.E.L.D division that Osborn kept around. Deals with alien-related threats."

"Figures," Remy shook his head.

"After the White Martians, Black Lanterns, and Skrulls invaded, removing such an organization would greatly damage Osborn's credibility," Moon Knight nodded.

"Recently found out about a new movement," Borderline continued. "Henry Gyrich took over as S.W.O.R.D head. Started kidnapping earth-bound aliens with the goal of permanently sending them off-world."

"Even aliens who have done good for this planet?" Dr. Connors asked.

"Exactly," Borderline snarled, showing bitterness once again as he lowered his sunglasses. "Gyrich is indiscriminately snatching aliens solely out of ludicrous xenophobia."

"We have to get Toxin back," Angelica said, "and free any and all other aliens Gyrich captured."

"Agreed, _chere_, but just how do we do that?" Remy asked.

"I know how," Borderline said with what seemed to be a slight smirk.

* * *

The next day, a S.W.O.R.D trooper escorted a surprisingly familiar long-haired boy through the halls of the S.W.O.R.D station. The boy was dressed in casual wear, namely a simple white shirt and jeans.

"You sure you want an internship here?" the trooper asked.

"Positive," the boy replied. "I want to do what's right for my country."

"You'll certainly do that here," said Gyrich, approaching the trooper and the boy. "So, you're the new intern. What's your name?"

"Robert Syruncle," the boy answered.

"We've done a background check already, Robert, so don't worry about that," Gyrich said. "What's your ideal job here?"

"Guard," Robert replied. "I want to make sure the aliens don't escape."

"What a coincidence," Gyrich said. "We need some new guards, seeing as most of S.W.O.R.D's troops are off capturing the aliens. Go to cell block D and stand guard outside the cells to start your job off right."

"Okay, sir," Robert said, leaving soon after.

* * *

Robert did indeed begin by strolling down a hallway lined with cells. Each cell contained a different alien, some slightly grotesque but others relatively close to human in appearance. Gyrich had told him that his job was to guard these aliens in order to prevent their escape.

This, in truth, was not Robert's intention.

As Robert went down the hall, he began to wordlessly hit the release buttons on each of the cells, deactivating their protective force-fields and freeing the prisoners. Eventually, he had released every last prisoner in the single hall, though there still were more to be had.

"Who are you?" asked one of the aliens, a girl with glowing rainbow-like skin.

"A guy who wants Osborn and his flunkies to go down," Robert said in a familiar tone of voice. "Find and free the other prisoners."

"Got it!" replied the girl, known by the name Karolina Dean.

After Karolina and most of the other aliens evacuated, Gyrich and several S.W.O.R.D troopers barged in. After taking a moment to pull up his dropped jaw, Gyrich flew into a rage.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Gyrich screamed.

"That I was doing what I came here to do," Robert said with a glare, and after clicking a button on his watch, a flickering and fading image revealed a familiar person.

Borderline.

"Who are you?" Gyrich demanded. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"Borderline," replied the boy. "I just freed lots of aliens from a paranoid racist."

"I WAS PROTECTING MY COUNTRY!" Gyrich bellowed. "If people would actually listen to me, then all those invasions would never have happened!"

"Really?" Borderline said with more than a hint of skepticism. "Violating basic rights equals safety?"

"What are you talking about?" Gyrich snapped. "I was protecting both my country and the world!"

"From something that was willing to help it," Borderline added.

"Have to admit, the kid's got a point," said a green-haired woman who had been freed earlier.

"Shut it, Brand!" Gyrich yelled. "You're not in charge anymore, I am!"

"She should be," Borderline said, looking to the woman. "Abigail Brand uses her brain. You don't. You have no right to lead S.W.O.R.D."

"I have more right than she does!" Gyrich yelled.

"Racist," Borderline said simply.

"I AM NOT-!" Gyrich attempted to counter, but an incredibly large piece of the ceiling fell onto him. While grievously injured and in dire need of medical attention, Gyrich was not yet dead, though he was finally unconscious.

"Seem racist to me, yes?" said the newcomer, an enormously large robot with a green body, numerous weapons mounted on its back, and a skull-like head with red horns.

"Funny," Borderline said. "Don't know who that is…I know who every superhuman or alien on Earth is…"

A small purple dragon-like alien by the name of Lockheed landed on Brand's shoulder, speaking into her ear an alien language.

"I think I know who that is," Brand said. "He tried to nab my annoying half-brother once."

"That's my job, yes?" said the robot. "I am a personal recovery specialist."

"Bounty hunter?" Borderline asked.

The robot's response was to aim at Borderline a large gun that apparently replaced its right hand.

"Personal recovery specialist, yes?" the robot corrected with a slightly angered tone of voice.

"Who are you here for, Death's Head?" Brand asked. "Knowing him, my half-brother is farther from here than you can imagine."

"True," Death's Head replied, looming over the two. "I am here for potential payments, yes? Helps to get ahead of the game, eh?"

The eccentric robot prepared to blast both Borderline and Brand.

"Don't get in my way," Death's Head warned, "or your fleshy juices will be everywhere but inside you, yes?"


	9. Death's Head

**First of all, apologies for the extreme lateness of this chapter. I was both uninspired and busy for a long time. Fortunately, that period is now over.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 8: Death's Head

While Borderline was at S.W.O.R.D headquarters, the rest of his resistance force gathered on the ground. Moon Knight looked at a device on his glove as if waiting for something. Toxin simply hung upside-down from the ceiling, Remy was polishing his staff, and Dr. Connors was inspecting various chemicals.

Angelica, however, had other concerns.

"Why can't we go?" Angelica asked Moon Knight.

"You gonna ask that all night, _chere_?" Remy called.

"Gambit has a point," Moon Knight nodded. "I have told you many times before, Angelica. Borderline believes that he has a better chance at freeing Gyrich's prisoners if he enters the Pike alone. You must be patient, Angelica. I may not have known Borderline for very much longer than you have, but I can tell that he knows what he is doing."

"I know that," Angelica sighed. "I just wish he wouldn't have to do it alone."

"Borderline is not so foolish as to operate entirely independently," Moon Knight said. "If he requires our assistance, he will ask for it."

The device on Moon Knight's glove began to beep rapidly.

"And that would be Borderline asking for help," Remy smirked.

"What's going on?" Angelica asked.

"Something has gone wrong," Moon Knight said. "Borderline would never jeopardize his cover if he could help it. We will board my ship immediately."

* * *

At the Pike, headquarters of S.W.O.R.D, Borderline performed a back-flip to avoid a stomp from Death's Head. Abigail Brand fired a volley of bullets at Death's Head's back, but they simply bounced off of his metallic armor. Lockheed, however, had a more effective plan. After quickly relaying it to Abigail, he acted on it.

The purple dragon launched himself into the air, knowing that Borderline and Abigail were keeping Death's Head distracted. Lockheed quickly appeared in front of Death's Head's face, spewing flame into one of the alien mechanoid's eyes.

"OW! OW! OWW!" Death's Head cried, clamping a hand over his burning eye. Lockheed flew away just in time, for Death's Head soon gave his body an order. "Optic, eject!"

The flaming eye was suddenly propelled from its socket, nearly crushing Borderline as it landed. Death's Head removed his hand, and with the burning eye gone, he was perfectly able to continue the fight.

"You owe me an eyeball, yes?" Death's Head growled.

Just then, a crescent-shaped ship burst into the Pike, leaving a hole that automatically had covering placed over it. Moon Knight's ship fired at Death's Head, but given the comparatively small size of the ship, the giant alien quickly caught it in his hand. Almost everyone else in Borderline's group was simply stunned by Death's Head's sheer size. Angelica was simply speechless, trying but failing to find the words to describe the alien. Moon Knight considered this a rather disturbing development. Dr. Connors joined Angelica in sheer awe.

Remy LeBeau had other ideas.

"Looks like you lost an eye," Remy said. "Let Remy help you with the other one!"

The mutant leapt out of the ship and straight for the space between Death's Head's eye and eye socket. Realizing the greater threat, Death's Head released the ship—allowing the now-powerless machine to drop to the floor—and snatched Remy with only two fingers.

"Brave little meatbag, yes?" Death's Head observed. "Still a personal recovery specialist can't be picky, eh?"

"Oh, you're a…personal recovery specialist?" Remy asked. "That sounds a little long to Remy. Why not just bounty hunter?"

"Not bounty hunter," Death's Head growled. He then pointed the large gun on his other arm directly at Remy. "_Never_ bounty hunter, yes?"

"Uh, yes," Remy gulped. "How about 'freelance peacekeeping agent'?"

"I told you, yes? I'm a personal recovery—" Death's Head said before cutting himself off. "You know what? I like that. Thanks, squishy."

"Uh, Remy was just joking!" Remy cried.

"So, yes?" Death's Head said, jabbing the gun into Remy's torso.

The giant mechanoid was about to fire at Remy, but a voice cut him off.

"How much?" Borderline asked, the remaining members of his group by his side.

"Eh?" Death's Head asked, leaning down closer to the strange human.

"How much are you getting paid for your work?" Borderline asked.

"Depends, yes?" Death's Head said. "You know someone with more?"

"Couple guys," Borderline said. "Each one owns a company. Each one has a lot of money. Each one also has a private account. Private accounts can be hacked. And I do a lot of hacking."

Death's Head dropped Remy, who was promptly caught by Angelica, and began to think for a moment.

* * *

"I can't believe that we got out of that through negotiating," Angelica said.

"Better believe it, _chere_," Remy smirked, "because it just happened."

"Just out of curiosity, whose accounts did you promise to Death's Head?" Moon Knight asked Borderline.

"Osborn's and Stark's," Borderline replied simply, sitting at his computer as he usually did.

"I should have guessed," said Pat.

"Done enough everywhere else," Borderline said. "Now to take the fight to Osborn. His X-Men go first. Then the Avengers."

He looked to his team.

"In or out?" he asked.

"I will be involved," Moon Knight said. "We will purge New York of the corruption Osborn has forced upon it."

"I'm in, too," Dr. Connors said. "I still owe you a debt of gratitude for giving me the ability to control my condition. Besides, we can't allow Osborn to use my research for his own ends."

"So am I," said Pat Mulligan. "Osborn has to be taken down. If you need Toxin's help to do that, we're here and ready."

"Well, why not?" Remy smirked. "I'm in, too. Can't let the pretty mutant girls fall into Osborn's freakish hands."

Only Borderline and Dr. Connors could detect the small sigh that Moon Knight heaved upon hearing Gambit's words.

"What about you, _chere_?" Remy asked Angelica.

Once again, Angelica had a decision to make. Just like she did at the Baxter Building, she had to stop and think. But this time, her decision was made much more quickly.

"I'm in," she said. "Let's take down Osborn's X-Men."

"Then here's what we'll do," Borderline said.

And then the strategizing began.


	10. Preparations for Battle

**So, I needed to let you know that, yes, I am alive. The reason I've been absent for so long? Well, there's this thing called college...**

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe that this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 9: Preparations for Battle

Emma Frost was less than pleased with her current situation.

Osborn had simply left her with his rag-tag X-Men, giving her only Daken as extra support. The entire team was unpredictable and unreliable, and worse yet they were being thrust into their first true mission without ironing out the kinks. Unfortunately, the team would have to work out their issues while on the job.

Emma once again gathered the team for a meeting. Mystique, keeping up her guise as Charles Xavier, was in a wheelchair. Cloak and Dagger stood together, yet also separate from the other members of their team.

"Now, then," Emma began, "I've brought you all here to brief you on your first mission as a team. Before I continue, I feel I need to inform you that you _must_ learn to function as a team."

"Been there, done that," Daken muttered.

"Our task is simple," Emma continued, ignoring Daken's comment. "We are to hunt down and terminate a band of renegades who have become a thorn in Osborn's side. We must show them that their insolence will not be tolerated, and with the renegades' demise, we will send a message to the remaining members of the superpowered community: Norman Osborn will not be crossed. We depart immediately."

Cloak and Dagger looked at one another. If they were to act, it would have to be soon.

* * *

Borderline knew that this had been coming.

He also knew how this would play out. He wanted the battle between those he had assembled and those led by Emma Frost to be waged in private, preventing public scrutiny. Likewise, Emma would desire a public spectacle to be made of Borderline's group, sending the same sort of message that a public execution would.

His team was aware of the risks. Those risks had been made perfectly clear to the group upon their initiation. And they were willing all the same.

"Borderline?" said the voice of Angelica Jones.

Borderline, pausing his thoughts for a moment, spun his chair around in order to face her.

"This is what you've been waiting for, isn't it?" Angelica said. "This is your chance to undo at least some of the things Osborn has done."

"Almost," Borderline replied in his typical fast-paced deadpan voice. "Osborn's X-Men are just the first step. Need to return New York to the way it was before the Registration Act was passed. Then things will be good again."

"Why do you care so much?" Angelica asked. "What do Osborn and Stark mean to you?"

Borderline paused. Then, he sighed.

"Wondering when one of you would ask," he said. He then pulled out his cell phone-like device and showed Angelica the image he had viewed when they first arrived at their base.

"Is this…?" Angelica said.

"This is me with my little sister," Borderline said, the pace of his speech slowing down to normal. "We're standing in front of Stamford."

"Was she…?" Angelica trailed off.

"Yes," Borderline said. "She was killed in the explosion."

"I…I'm so sorry," Angelica said, "I didn't know—"

"You couldn't," Borderline interrupted, regaining the quick pacing in his words. "We need to get some sleep. Need to be a hundred percent to fight Osborn's X-Men. Or at least ninety-five."

"Okay," Angelica nodded. She then turned to walk away, but stopped. "Can we talk again sometime?"

Borderline considered it for a moment.

"When this is over," he said.

"Sounds good," Angelica smiled. She then left, but Borderline returned to his computer.

"We'll have time," he said, typing at his computer. "Once we're done. We'll have a lot of time."

* * *

The next day, Emma Frost led the Dark X-Men down the streets of New York. Mystique was disguised as Professor Xavier, and as such accompanied her team with the use of a wheelchair. As they marched through the streets, Emma broadcasted a telepathic message to the community.

"_Attention, people of New York,_" Emma began with her mental voice, "_this is Emma Frost of the X-Men. There is a group of criminals who seek to destroy the safe and peaceful society that the Iron Patriot has built._"

"Safe, maybe," a familiar rapid-paced voice interjected. "Peaceful, never."

The Dark X-Men turned around and saw Borderline's team standing there, the trenchcoat-wearing teen at the center of the line. Gambit smirked, twirling his staff in anticipation of the fight. Dr. Connors kept his finger hovering over his belt, awaiting the need to utilize his Lizard powers. Angelica clenched her fists, tension overtaking her body. Moon Knight glared darkly at the false X-Men, while Toxin cracked his knuckles.

"And by the way," Borderline continued, "you're not the _real _X-Men."

"So sue us," Daken spat.

"And here I thought we would have to drag you out of whatever hole you were hiding in," Emma smirked. "Are you going to come quietly?"

"Answer's up there," Borderline said, pointing up.

The Dark X-Men all looked upward. All jaws dropped in unison at the sight of the object that approached them. A massive shape fell from the sky and landed behind Borderline's renegade crew.

Death's Head had joined the team.

"Greetings, yes?" said the self-proclaimed freelance peacekeeping agent.

"H-how…in the world…did you recruit such a—" Emma stammered, losing her composure completely.

"Money talks, eh?" Death's Head replied.

* * *

Meanwhile, Norman Osborn was furious.

"What happened to my fortune?" Osborn cried. "How did someone hack into my account and rob every last cent I own? The fact that this has also happened to Tony Stark's account does not in any way make up for this!"

* * *

"Many of you have committed crimes beyond redemption," Moon Knight declared.

"Especially your boss," Borderline added. "It's time he went down."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Emma retorted. "X-Men, attack!"


	11. The Final Battle

**Finally...the end has come. After months of college and writer's block, this story is finally finished.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own Borderline. The universe that this story takes place in belongs to Persiana13, and everything else belongs to Marvel.**

Chapter 10: The Final Battle

Chaos erupted in the streets of New York. Remy and Daken engaged one other, each using their respective weapons—Remy's staff and Daken's claws—to block the other's strikes. Angelica and Omega traded blasts of energy, and Toxin's arms rapidly extended into Dark Beast's stomach, sending the furry mutant into a wall. The alternate-reality Hank McCoy, however, recovered quickly.

"You will come to regret that, my friend," Dark Beast growled.

"Not as much as you'll regret fighting me!" Dr. Connors cried, fiddling with his belt and becoming the Lizard. "**I have complete control of my reptilian form, which means that you shall meet your end!**"

Meanwhile, Moon Knight stared down not only the wheelchair-bound Mystique, but Cloak and Dagger as well.

"Your guise shares your evil, Mystique," Moon Knight growled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Mystique said innocently, attempting to maintain her façade as Charles Xavier.

"How is Xavier evil?" Dagger asked. Meanwhile, Cloak noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

"Simply the ramblings of a man with multiple personalities," Mystique said with a wave of Xavier's hand. "Nothing more."

"Is that so?" Moon Knight said, advancing on Mystique. "Then Xavier did not conspire with prominent so-called 'heroes' with the purpose of reshaping society according to their whims? Then he did not send the Hulk into space, giving up on Bruce Banner rather than offering him help?"

Dagger stared. She had not known that Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men, had done such things. While she knew that no one was perfect, she also decided that it was possibly time to re-evaluate her and Cloak's allegiances.

"Take this, you Ezio Auditore reject!" Mimic cried, firing a crimson beam of energy from his eyes at Moon Knight. Cloak, however, warped in front of the white-garbed vigilante and with a swoop of his cape, he, Moon Knight, and Dagger were gone. "What?"

"You fool!" Mystique growled. "He saw you coming a mile away!"

Borderline, however, simply evaded Emma Frost's swinging legs, seemingly ignoring the fact that the latter's body was now completely composed of diamond. He extended one pole and swept it across the ground, tripping Emma up and, due to the density of her body, leaving a crater in the pavement when she fell.

"How…?" Emma gasped.

"Adamantium poles," Borderline said. "Adamantium beats diamond. You lose. Again."

"Not while I still breathe!" Emma declared, only for a giant metallic foot to step on her.

"Can remedy that, yes?" Death's Head said, grinding his foot into the pavement. "Ow, note to self: never step on a diamond woman again, eh?"

Death's Head suddenly shrieked in pain, largely due to Emma's fist punching through his foot. The former White Queen pulled herself out of his foot, breathing heavily.

"And I thought mercenaries were negotiable," she said.

Death's Head reached down and gripped Emma's head with his forefinger and thumb, pulling her into the air.

"Don't…ever…call…me…a…_mercenary_!" Death's Head yelled, winding his arm back and throwing Emma Frost off into the distance. The giant alien robot then turned to Borderline. "So, current client, what should I use to finish her friends?"

He used his one actual hand to remove various weapons and ammunitions from his back.

"I have missiles, battles axes, blasters…the list goes on, yes?" Death's Head said. "Even have a thermonuclear bomb somewhere in here, eh?"

"Stick with blasters," Borderline said. "Don't want whole area to explode."

"You're the client, yes?" Death's Head shrugged. He adjusted the blaster that currently served as his right hand and prepared for further battle.

Dark Beast was currently struggling against the Lizard and Toxin, eventually losing when Lizard's tail struck him down. Toxin then went on to completely bind Omega in symbiote tentacles, shortly before slamming the latter into a wall. Remy finished his fight with Daken by bashing his head against the Cajun's staff, disorienting the son of Wolverine. This left Mystique, who still remained in her guise of Professor Xavier. Cloak, Dagger, and Moon Knight reappeared as well.

"You're finished," Borderline said.

"Now, what makes you say that?" Mystique asked. "I am, after all, Charles Xavier. I can wipe you all out with a single mental blast."

"Don't think so," Borderline said. He stepped forward and jabbed one of his poles into the false Xavier's stomach, discharging a significant amount of electricity into his wheelchair-bound foe. Due to the intense pain she was in, Mystique was unable to hold her disguise, reverting to her usual blue-skinned form.

"Mystique," Borderline said. "Real name Raven Darkholme. Former member of Brotherhood of Mutants. Powers include shape-shifting and longevity...not telepathy."

He then struck her in the head with his remaining pole, knocking her unconscious.

"Currently inactive," Borderline finished. He then turned to his group. "Everyone done?"

"All present and accounted for," Remy smirked.

"Except Daken," Moon Knight said.

"What do you—" Remy began, only to look and find that Daken had vanished. "Oh."

"Where do you think he went?" Angelica asked, Dr. Connors approaching as he reverted from his Lizard form.

"Probably back to Osborn's Avengers," Borderline said.

Death's Head leaned down, intending to speak to the humans on their level.

"Well, fleshy client, I fought your anti-X-Men or whatever," the giant mechanoid said. "Our business appears to be concluded, yes?"

"Not yet," Borderline said. "One more job for you."

"And I will be paid, yes?" Death's Head asked.

"More money goes to your account," Borderline said. "But only if you do this."

"No harm in that, eh?" Death's Head said. "What do I need to do?"

"Need you to track down someone," Borderline said. He tapped some buttons on his cell phone-like device. "Info sent to your ship. Let me know if you find him. You'll get your money then."

"Fair enough," Death's Head said. "You're an unusually clever fleshy, yes? Hope to see you again, we do good business together, eh?"

Death's Head returned to his ship via a tractor beam, leaving Borderline and his group.

"Who are you having him search for?" Dr. Connors asked.

"Hulk," Borderline said simply.

"He was unjustly ejected from Earth," Moon Knight nodded. "He must be returned here."

"Okay, we beat Osborn's X-Men," Toxin said, "Up next is his fake Avenger team, right? The one Daken ran away to?"

"Not yet," Borderline said. "Osborn's missing. Need to take an opportunity."

"Would that opportunity not be to simply destroy his Avengers while he is unable to lead them?" Moon Knight suggested.

"Different opportunity," Borderline said, holding up his cell phone device. "Osborn tortured superpowered teens. Told them he would make them normal. Amplified their powers instead. Found locations of six Osborn tortured the most."

Displayed on the device's screen was an image of a dark haired boy.

"Reptil," Borderline said. "Real name Humberto Lopez. Powers include minor shape-shifting involving dinosaur body parts. Former member of pro-Registration Initiative Program. Currently incarcerated."

Next was another dark-haired boy, this one with a lightning-shaped scar under one eye and a streak of white in his hair.

"Striker," Borderline explained. "Real name Brandon Sharpe. Powers include electrokinesis. Former performer for demolition derbies. Currently incarcerated."

Following Striker was a girl with short dark hair.

"Jeanne Foucault," Borderline said. "No code-name. Powers include photographic reflexes and eidetic memory. Currently incarcerated."

After Jeanne was another girl, this one with red hair.

"Madeline Berry," Borderline said. "No code-name. Powers include ability to transform body into various gaseous compounds. Currently incarcerated."

Following Madeline was another male, this one looking as if he was a younger version of the Red Skull.

"Ken Mack," Borderline said. "No code-name. Powers include super-strength and dense metallic skin. Currently incarcerated."

Finally came a girl with dark hair.

"Jennifer Takeda," Borderline said. "No code-name. Powers include generation of various types of radiation. Currently incarcerated."

A short pause followed.

"Sheesh," Remy said, "that might just be the longest you went on. Remy's head's starting to hurt."

"And all these teens are trapped?" Dr. Connors asked. "Locked in H.A.M.M.E.R facilities?"

"Yep," Borderline said. "We get them out."

He looked over to Cloak and Dagger.

"Want to join up?" he asked.

"We'd love to, but…I don't know," Dagger said, "we need some time to think after what we heard about Xavier."

Borderline simply shrugged.

"No argument," he said. He then looked to Moon Knight. "Coordinates to facilities in your ship. We go A.S.A.P."

Moon Knight nodded, leading Remy, Dr. Connors, and Toxin to the ship. Angelica, however, remained behind.

"Borderline?" she asked. "Is now a good time to talk for a second?"

Borderline stared into space for a moment, then shrugged.

"Probably," he said, walking to the ship with Angelica in tow. "What about?"

"Well," Angelica began, "I know we haven't known each other long, but…I want to know more about you. What's your real name?"

Borderline stopped. To a passerby, it looked as if he was contemplating the secrets of the universe, when in reality he was simply trying to decide if he should tell her. Instead, he sighed.

"Maybe later," he said.

"Fair enough," Angelica nodded. "See you at the ship?"

Borderline nodded, and Angelica left. Borderline looked at his phone, gazing at the image of him and his sister standing in front of her school.

"_We're one step closer_," he thought. "_The people who killed you will face justice. I promise._"

He then followed Angelica to Moon Knight's ship, hoping to strike another blow against Norman Osborn. After Osborn fell, and the world was safe, Tony Stark would finally face justice for his crimes performed with the Illuminati. Borderline's sister would be avenged.

Although he rode on the edge of sanity, on the edge of disaster, he would make sure that justice was served…no matter what.

**And so it ends. About time, huh? **


End file.
